Appendix A: Eras and Aeons
Historical Eras
The historical periods in this table are approximate and are intended as a broad chronological guide, not as a complete regional chronology. The earlier archaeological periods, especially the Stone, Copper, Bronze, and Iron Ages, vary considerably by region; the dates used here follow a broadly ancient Near Eastern and eastern Mediterranean pattern if only because Thelema was revealed in Egypt.
The later historical periods have been simplified deliberately. Rather than following only a narrow Levantine or biblical-archaeological sequence, as has been the standard for decades in Western religious scholarship, the table uses broader labels such as Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine / Late Antique, Early Islamic, Medieval Levantine, Ottoman, Modern, and Contemporary. These names are meant to orient the reader within large historical movements, not to settle every regional boundary. Periodization changes depending on discipline, geography, and purpose, so authors should identify the chronological system they are using whenever dates are central to the discussion. Dates should be given in full, as in 587–539 BCE (not 587–9 BCE), and treated as approximate where appropriate.
In general usage, capitalize formal dynastic names but lowercase generic period labels unless they are part of a conventional proper name: Eighteenth Dynasty, Ur III Dynasty, Old Babylonian period, Middle Kingdom period, Roman period, and modern period.
Thelemic Aeons
This table places the traditional Thelemic Aeons alongside a broad historical and archaeological chronology. The placement of the Aeon of Isis around c. 4000 BCE is hypothetical and the Aeon of Osiris around c. 500 BCE is based on Crowley’s writing without much additional empirical evidence: these dates are interpretive approximations based on comparing Crowley’s descriptions of the Aeons with broad developments in the historical record.1Aeons in this representation are based on the 2002 Aeonic Theory of Frater Phoenix. They are useful as symbolic markers, but no amount of theological history, comparative religion, or archaeology can prove the exact transition point between Isis and Osiris.
The Aeon of Horus is different. In Thelemic tradition, it begins in 1904 CE with the reception of Liber AL vel Legis, or the Book of the Law, which Crowley said was dictated in Cairo on April 8, 9, and 10 of that year. For that reason, 1904 is presented here as the definite Thelemic transition into the current Aeon, while the earlier dates remain symbolic and historical approximations.
Table of Time
Age |
Period |
Subperiod |
Approximate Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stone Age (ca. 2,000,000 BP–4500 BCE) |
Paleolithic (ca. 2,000,000 BP–8300 BCE) |
Lower Paleolithic | ca. 2,000,000–300,000 BP |
| Middle Paleolithic | ca. 300,000–30,000 BP | ||
| Upper Paleolithic | ca. 30,000–12,000 BP | ||
| Epipalaeolithic | ca. 12,000 BP–8300 BCE | ||
| Neolithic (ca. 8300–4500 BCE) |
Pre-Pottery Neolithic | ca. 8300–5500 BCE | |
| Pottery Neolithic | ca. 5500–4500 BCE | ||
| Aeon of Isis begins ca. 4000 BCE |
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| Copper Age (Chalcolithic) (ca. 4500–3300 BCE) |
Early Chalcolithic | ca. 4500–4000 BCE | |
| Late Chalcolithic / Ghassulian | ca. 4000–3300 BCE | ||
| Bronze Age (ca. 3300–1200 BCE) |
Early Bronze Age (ca. 3300–2000 BCE) |
Early Bronze Age I | ca. 3300–3000 BCE |
| Early Bronze Age II | ca. 3000–2700 BCE | ||
| Early Bronze Age III | ca. 2700–2200 BCE | ||
| Early Bronze Age IV | ca. 2200–2000 BCE | ||
| Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2000–1550 BCE) |
Middle Bronze Age I | ca. 2000–1750 BCE | |
| Middle Bronze Age II | ca. 1750–1650 BCE | ||
| Middle Bronze Age III | ca. 1650–1550 BCE | ||
| Late Bronze Age (ca. 1550–1200 BCE) |
Late Bronze Age I | ca. 1550–1400 BCE | |
| Late Bronze Age II A | ca. 1400–1300 BCE | ||
| Late Bronze Age II B | ca. 1300–1200 BCE | ||
| Iron Age (ca. 1200–586 BCE) |
Iron Age I (ca. 1200–1000 BCE) |
Iron Age I A | ca. 1200–1150 BCE |
| Iron Age I B | ca. 1150–1000 BCE | ||
| Iron Age II (ca. 1000–586 BCE) |
Iron Age II A | ca. 1000–900 BCE | |
| Iron Age II B | ca. 900–700 BCE | ||
| Iron Age II C | ca. 700–586 BCE | ||
| Historical Periods (586 BCE–present) |
Babylonian Period | 586–539 BCE | |
| Persian Period | 539–332 BCE | ||
| Aeon of Osiris begins ca. 500 BCE |
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| Historical Periods (continued) |
Hellenistic Period (332–37 BCE) |
Early Hellenistic | 332–167 BCE |
| Late Hellenistic | 167–37 BCE | ||
| Roman Period (37 BCE–324 CE) |
Early Roman | 37 BCE–132 CE | |
| Late Roman | 132–324 CE | ||
| Byzantine / Late Antique Period | 324–638 CE | ||
| Early Islamic Period | 638–1099 CE | ||
| Medieval Levantine Period | 1099–1516 CE | ||
| Ottoman Period (1516–1917 CE) |
Early and Middle Ottoman | 1516–1904 CE | |
| Aeon of Horus begins 1904 CE |
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| Late Ottoman | 1904–1917 CE | ||
| Modern Period | 1917–1945 CE | ||
| Contemporary Period | 1945 CE–present | ||
- Aeons in this representation are based on the 2002 Aeonic Theory of Frater Phoenix. ↩